


Contingency Plan

by dcrthkenobi (galakticfinn)



Series: BodhiCassian Raise Poe [2]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Rogue One Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 14:11:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9075316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galakticfinn/pseuds/dcrthkenobi
Summary: In this line of work, if you had a child it was a good idea to have a plan - who would raise your child if you couldn't. For Shara and Kes Dameron, the choice is easy. Cassian Andor and Bodhi Rook.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for any mistakes. I'll edit this /again/ tomorrow. I've come to terms with the fact that I will never catch mistakes until after it's been posted.
> 
> Also, while not filed under the same series, this does take place in the same universe as my An Imperial Pilot (In the Rebellion) fics.

_Cassian came out of Poe’s small room (almost a closet really) after telling the boy a bedtime story. Poe was getting to the age where he was rather insistent when he wanted something. Maybe they should say no to him occasionally -  wouldn’t want Poe to be too spoiled – but no one really had it in their hearts to say no to the boy._

_It wasn’t easy living in the cramped space of the Rebellion Base. The food left something to be desired. There was little personal space – Cassian was lucky that he was a high-ranking officer and even_ managed _to get Bodhi assigned to the same quarters as him (though being part of the team to get the original Death Star plans probably helped). The only reason why the Damerons had their own space was because they had Poe._

_It was hard enough living on base as an adult. Cassian couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible it was Poe._

_Poe wasn’t even two years old yet – close, but not quite. This base was the only home that the boy had ever known and it wasn't the best place for a child. Some people questioned Shara and Kes’ decision to keep Poe with them, but Poe had nowhere else to go. Even Cassian questioned their decision, but at the same time he was glad Poe was there._

_Poe was his hope._

_Poe was nearly everyone’s hope. When Cassian and the other rebels looked at Poe they saw hope. They were reminded of why they were fighting. Poe was the reason why they fought – why they kept fighting despite the odds that were stacked against them. They fought so that Poe – and other children could live. So that they could grow up free from tyranny._

_“Thanks for putting him to bed.” Shara said with a soft smile. She knew that Cassian was likely exhausted._

_Cassian inclined his head and smiled. “It’s difficult to say no to him.”_

_Shara shared a glanced with Kes then looked back at Cassian. “We actually wanted to talk to you… about Poe.”_

_“Of course,” Cassian nodded his head, sitting down in the chair across from them. Even though he was tired, he didn’t feel much like going back to his own room. He knew the bed would be cold tonight, since Bodhi was away on a reconnaissance mission._

_“There’s no guarantee about what could happen to us out there.” Kes began. “Our lives are constantly in danger. We need to know that Poe will be taken care of if something happens to us.”_

_“We’d like you and Bodhi to raise Poe if we can’t” Shara continued – getting right to the point._

_“Me and –“ Cassian started, sounding a bit unsure._

_“You’d both be great parents.”_

_Cassian looked over at the closed door to Poe’s bedroom. “Well,” he said, looking back at Kes and Shara, “Let’s hope that we won’t have to discover our parenting skills.” He paused, then continued softly, “But if we need to, we will always be there for Poe.”_

_He knew – even without consulting with Bodhi – that Bodhi would immediately agree to raise Poe if they needed to, so he didn’t have a problem with agreeing without Bodhi there with him. He just really hoped that it ever came down to them to raise Poe. He loved Poe – they both did – but raising him would be the loss of two friends._

**

 _“Where’s Poe!?”_ Cassian hissed when he walked up to K2. “You were supposed to _watch_ him!”

Cassian could feel his already present tension begin to rise further. Kes and Shara had entrusted him with making sure Poe would be safely evacuated from the base – they were part of the Endor strike team and had already left. Cassian had thought leaving Poe with K2 would be a good idea – he was in sight of everyone and couldn’t _possibly_ be left behind. And now he was gone.

“I’m a droid, Cassian, not a nanny. My primary function is strategical analysis.”

_“Kay-Tu!”_

“Bodhi has taken him over to that transport. Calm down before you have an aneurism.” Cassian turned around in time to see Bodhi and Poe step onto a nearby transport shuttle.

Cassian breathed a sigh of relief. That’s right, he’d forgotten that he’d asked Bodhi to put Poe onto a transport.

Cassian went over to the transport, but stayed back and let Bodhi take care of Poe. It made Cassian’s heart flutter with love seeing the two of them together. Bodhi was excellent with kids – or well with _Poe_ , since Poe was the only child around.

“Promise you’ll come back.” Poe’s small voice drifted out from the transport.

“I promise.” He heard Bodhi reply. “And when I get back I’ll take you up in my X-Wing, but only if you behave. Deal?”

Cassian shook his head and rolled his eyes. Of _course_ Bodhi would bribe Poe into behaving by using his X-Wing. Only two years old and Poe was already _obsessed_ with X-Wings, he wanted to grow up to be a Rebel Alliance X-Wing Pilot – he didn’t yet understand the horrors that the career path entailed.

Nobody wanted _that_ dream to come true.

“You’re not _actually_ considering taking Poe up in your X-Wing, are you?” Cassian asked when Bodhi emerged from the transport. “He’s only two.”

Bodhi shrugged as they started walking toward his X-Wing. “I don’t see why not. There won’t be any danger when we get back.”

“You’re rather confident.” Cassian grinned, but quickly became serious again. He took Bodhi’s hand and laced their fingers together. “Don’t die. Come back because –“ _Because I don’t know what I would do if you died. The Empire already took so much from me, they can’t take you too. I love you, Bodhi Rook, and I can’t lose you._

He didn’t say it though, he should, but he didn’t. He didn’t need to, Bodhi understood. Sometimes it felt like Bodhi understood Cassian better than Cassian understood himself.

Bodhi pulled Cassian into a sweet, tender kiss. “Live or die,” he said when they pulled apart. “I’ll always love you.”

Bodhi pulled away from Cassian and walked the rest of the way to his X-Wing. When he reached the ladder, he turned and looked back at Cassian – who was still standing where he had left him. He snapped off a salute to Cassian and climbed into his X-Wing.

**

Bodhi took a deep breath as Rogue Squadron, one by one, made the jump to lightspeed. He’d been flying under the call sign “Rogue One” for a few years now – something that he’d initially been hesitant about, but Cassian assured him that it was the right thing to do. Now, in honor of those who had fallen, he flew proudly in Rogue Squadron as Rogue One.

But this was the first time that he had ever _led_ the squadron. He’d been perfectly content with following Luke Skywalker’s lead, but – with Luke joining the Strike team on Endor – it fell on him to lead Rogue Squadron.

It should have been Wedge Antilles, in Bodhi’s opinion, but Wedge had immediately nominated Bodhi for the task. Despite Bodhi’s protests that he’d be a terrible leader, the entire squadron had agreed.

Bodhi reached into the neck line of his flight suit and pulled out the necklace that Cassian had given him not long after Scarif. It was a simple purple, wooden charm – colored naturally from the bark of a Yavin 4 massassi tree – shaped like the symbol of the Rebel Alliance.

Since the day it was given to him, Bodhi has never taken the necklace off. Now he held the charm in his hand, smooth and worn from the amount of times he’d nervously rubbed his thumb over the surface. He curled his fingers around the charm and brought his fist up to touch his lips. Closing his eyes, he silently prayed that everything would be okay – that he would be able to keep his promise to Poe and that he and Cassian would be able to grow old together.

Bodhi opened his eyes and tucked the necklace back beneath his flight suit just before they arrived at their destination.

It was a disaster. The Death Star’s shields were still up and fully operational.  Bohdi tried not to think about what that meant for Kes, Shara, and the strike team – because if the shields were still up that meant that something had gone wrong.

He’d been hopeful. He’d honestly been so _hopefully_ _optimistic_ that they could do this – that, with the element of surprise, they could win. He’d been convinced that _this was it_ , this would be the end of the Empire. Cassian was always telling him that Rebellions were built on hope. So, Bodhi was hopeful.

But when the Imperial Fleet made its appearance – coming out of warp so suddenly – and he heard Admiral Ackbar over the comms announcing that it was a trap, he didn’t feel so confident.  It’s a trap and everything seemed to be falling apart around them before they had even started.

Rebellions were built on hope. Bodhi wasn’t so sure he still had hope.

_No! You can’t give up hope now._

“We have incoming TIEs!” Bodhi called over the comms to his squadron. “Stay sharp! Things may not be going how we wanted, but have hope.” He thought about Cassian, “Rebellions are built on hope!”

Bodhi allowed himself to smile when he heard a chorus of, “Rebellions are built on hope!” repeated back to him from his squad.

Even with all their hope, though, it’s quickly evident that the battle wasn’t going their way. They’re outnumbered with no current plan other than, “Don’t die!” With the shields still up, their plans were useless. All they could do now was fight and hope that the strike team was still alive and able to come through for them.

Bodhi’s heart stopped when the Death Star powered up and a green beam shot out and hit an Alliance cruiser – destroying it instantly. He didn’t know which cruiser Cassian was on, he just knew that Cassian was on one of them.

_No. No. No. No. No._

He couldn’t lose Cassian. Not Now. Not after everything that they’d been through together. Surviving Scarif, the cold nights on Hoth, their first kiss. It had taken Cassian so long to open up to him and to allow love into his heart again. It had taken Bodhi just as long to learn that he wasn’t just another expendable pilot.

He _couldn’t_ lose Cassian.

Bodhi’s breath stuttered out of him and he shook his head to clear his thoughts. _Fight now, worry later_. There were people counting on him – his squadron and _Poe_. He promised Poe that he would come back. He made a _promise._ He needed to focus on the mission and survive. Survive for Poe. Survive for Cassian.

A shout of glee echoed across the comms and another voice yelled that the shields were disabled. Bodhi turned and angled his X-Wing toward the Death Star and scanned the surrounding area for the Millennium Falcon and its squadron – they were pinned down by TIEs.

“Rogue Squadron! Regroup on me! We gotta keep those TIEs off the Falcon for as long as we can!”

 _This was it_.

**

Bodhi set his X-Wing down in the clearing and climbed out as quickly as he could and ran over to where the rest of the fleet was gathered. He could hear the yelling and cheering, but among that he could hear the muted crying of those who had lost someone. He searched frantically for Cassian, heart rate speeding up the longer he went without finding him.

_“Bodhi!”_

Bodhi stopped and turned, immediately pinpointing the location of the voice – because he _knew_ that voice better than he knew himself. He ran to Cassian, skirting and dodging around his fellow rebels until he was collapsing into a familiar pair of arms.

“I thought you were _dead_.” Bodhi gasped, grabbing one of Cassian’s hands.

“I’m right here.” Cassian pulled the elastic out of Bodhi’s hair, running his fingers through it the way he always did when he comforted Bodhi – because he knew Bodhi loved it when Cassian played with his hair.

Bodhi pulled away once his heart rate had returned to normal, but kept his fingers laced with Cassian’s. “I’m not in the mood for celebrating.” Even with the news of the Emperor’s death and the imminent collapse of the Empire, he thought about the lives that were lost in order to achieve that.

Cassian looked over Bodhi’s shoulder and saw the transport that Poe had been on landing in the clearing. The surviving members of the fleet had contacted the council members and the council had decided to regroup with the fleet on Endor.

“I don’t either.” Cassian swallowed, still looking at the transport. “Shara and Kes didn’t make it.” Cassina said numbly, still in shock over the discovery.

Bodhi sucked in a breath. He felt dizzy suddenly. He’d always been aware of the possibility, there was _always_ the possibility – but he’d hoped that it wouldn’t happen. Over the past couple of years, Shara and Kes had become two of his closest friends – which was how they even knew Poe in the first place. And now they were gone. It didn’t seem real.

Cassian squeezed Bodhi’s hand in comfort and nodded toward the transport. He wanted to give Bodhi time to mourn the loss of their friends – hell, _Cassian_ wanted to mourn them (he’d known Kes and Shara for nearly a decade) – but they had someone else to worry about before they could think about themselves.

Bodhi followed Cassian’s gaze to the transport. “ _Poe._ ”

They walked over to the transport, neither one of them knew what they were going to say to Poe – but it had to be done. The transport opened and people flooded out. Bodhi’s eyes eventually landed on Poe – the only child in the group – who was holding tightly onto Mon Mothma’s hand and clutching his X-Wing Pilot doll with the other.

Poe’s eyes lit up when he saw Bodhi and Cassian and he pulled away from Mon Mothma, running over to them. “You came back!” But his happiness melted when he looked behind them. “Where’s mommy and daddy?”

They were always the first to greet him whenever he got off those transports and now they weren’t here.

Bodhi knelt down and looked at Poe. Poe looked back up at him with wide eyes and Bodhi could already see the tears already starting to form – Poe seemed to have guessed what was wrong.

“Poe, they aren’t coming back.”

Bodhi’s heart broke when Poe’s face fell and he quickly picked up the toddler, sobs already wracking his body. Most children wouldn’t have understood, but Poe wasn’t most children. Growing up on the base, Poe had learned what “not coming back” meant. Poe was also aware that "not coming back" was permanent.

He stood up and looked over at Cassian as he cradled Poe in his arms, running his fingers through Poe's hair and trying to comfor the child. Judging by the look on the other man’s face, he felt the same as Bodhi. It felt like they had failed Poe. Bodhi rested his head on Cassian’s shoulder when Cassian put his arms around him and Poe.

They wanted to comfort Poe, but they didn’t know how.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm...really sorry. Also:
> 
> "Only two years old and Poe was already obsessed with X-Wings, he wanted to grow up to be a Rebel Alliance X-Wing Pilot – he didn’t yet understand the horrors that that career path entailed. Nobody wanted that dream to come true."
> 
> Bodhi and Cassian Approx 30 years later: *Looks into the camera like this is the office*


End file.
